The Consequence of Social Darwinism:
The Holocaust Violence

The Nazis subjected European Jews to indisputable and unforgivable cruelty during World War II. They humiliated, insulted and degraded millions of Jewish civilians, forcing them from their homes and enslaving them in concentration camps under inhuman conditions.

Considering the dimensions of the genocide and cruelty inflicted by the Nazis on the Jews and other nations during World War II, we need to make it quite clear that we totally oppose all forms of cruelty, torture and genocide, regardless of religion, race or ethnic origin. We totally denounce the slightest unjust attack on the Jews or any other nation.

This is required by the moral values God commands humanity in the Qur'an, which condemns all those who commit evil, inflict cruelty on others or unjustly take life in this world. As the Qur'an reveals to us, "if someone kills another person--unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the Earth--it is as if he had murdered all mankind." (Qur'an, 5:32) Committing murder is forbidden to all humanity. Our Lord has revealed that the murder of even one single innocent, therefore, is a crime equivalent to the murder of all people.

During Word War II and the years leading up to it, many Jews were subjected to great barbarity and slaughter. We unreservedly condemn the killings and oppression of these Jews and other innocent people by the Nazis, or anyone else. There can be absolutely no justification for the cruelty inflicted on the tens of millions who lost their lives in World War II (be they German, Russian, British, French, Japanese, Chinese, Gypsies, Croats, Poles, Berbers, Serbs, Arabs, Bosnians or of any other nationalities). Historians estimate that before and during the war, the Nazis killed some 29 million civilians in concentration camps, ghettoes, military murders and political assassinations.

Facism has inflicted terrible suffering and disasters on mankind. The 19th and 20th centuries were rife with killings perpetrated by racist regimes and organizations that oppressed and slaughtered innocent people for the sake of their own ideological obsessions. A revealing point is the way the Nazi worldview took Darwin's theory of evolution as its intellectual basis. When putting forward his theory, Charles Darwin had claimed that there was a constant fight for survival in nature, and that some races were especially favored in the fight, while others were doomed to lose and be "eliminated." As one might expect, these views soon came to represent the scientific foundation of racism.

Hitler's devotion to the ideas of Darwin appeared in the title of his own book, Mein Kampf. The struggle in question was, of course, the fight for survival proposed by Darwin. Hitler's, and thus the Nazis', ideological devotion to Darwinism was implemented in their policies after coming to power. The Nazis' racial policies, known as "eugenics," represented the theory of evolution as applied to society. Eugenics refers to the weeding out of the sick and handicapped, and the "improvement" of the human race by increasing the number of healthy individuals.

As a result of Hitler's philosophy, the Nazis rounded up the mentally ill, the crippled, the congenitally blind and those suffering from inherited diseases and sent them to special "sterilization centers." Under a law passed in 1933, 350,000 mentally ill people, 30,000 gypsies and hundreds of colored children were sterilized by means of castration, x-rays, injections or electric shocks to the genitals.

It's vitally important that mankind be warned against Darwinism's deceptions and propaganda, and that its intellectual threats be neutralized. Rather than ignoring the threat it poses, sincere believers must strive to become aware of this dangerous idea and mobilize all their resources to eradicate it.

Antisemitism and every kind of racism is contrary to Islam

Antisemitism is an anti-religion ideology that has its roots in Neo-Paganism. Therefore, it is unthinkable that a Muslim would espouse antisemitism or feel sympathy for this ideology. Anti-Semites have no respect for Abraham, Moses or David who were blessed prophets chosen by God to be examples for humanity.

Antisemitism and other kinds of racism (eg. prejudice against Blacks) have no place in true religion; they are perversions arising from various ideologies and superstitions.

Furthermore, when we examine antisemitism and other forms of racism, we see clearly that they promote ideas and a model of society that is totally contrary to the moral teachings of the Qur'an. For example, at the root of antisemitism lie hatred, violence, and lack of compassion. An anti-Semite may be so cruel as to support the murder of Jewish people without distinguishing between women, children and the aged, and condone their being subjected to torture. However, the moral teaching of the Qur'an enjoins love, compassion and mercy for all people. It also commands Muslims to show justice and be forgiving even to their enemies.

On the other hand, anti-Semites and other kinds of racists balk against living together in peace with people of different race or creed. However, in the Qur'an, there is not the slightest distinction between races; the Qur'an advises that people of different faiths live together in the same society in peace and happiness.

According to the Qur'an, Muslims, Jews and Christians must live in friendship

Jews and Christians (called in the Qur'an the "People of the Book") are much closer to Muslims than idolaters (pagans or the atheists). The People of the Book, like Muslims, believe in one God and are subject to His commands.

In the Qur'an, there is a significant difference between the People of the Book and the idolaters. This is especially emphasized in the area of social life. For example, it is said concerning the idolaters: "(they) are unclean, so after this year they should not come near the Masjid al-Haram." (Surat at-Tawba: 28) Idolaters are people who know no divine law, have no moral precepts and who can commit every kind of degrading and perverse deed without hesitation.

But the People of the Book, while they rely basically on God's revelation, have moral precepts and know what is lawful and what is not. For this reason, if one of the People of the Book cooks some food, it is lawful for Muslims to eat it. In the same way, permission has been given to a Muslim man to marry a woman from among the People of the Book. On this subject God commands:

Today all good things have been made lawful for you. And the food of those given the Book is also lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. So are chaste women from among the believers and chaste women of those given the Book before you, once you have given them their dowries in marriage, not in fornication or taking them as lovers. But as for anyone who disbelieve, his actions will come to nothing and in the hereafter he will be among the losers. (Surat al-Mai'da: 5)

These commands show that bonds of kinship may be established as a result of the marriage of a Muslim with a woman from the People of the Book and that those on each side of the union can accept an invitation to a meal. These are the fundamentals that will ensure the establishment of equitable human relationships and a happy communal life. Since the Qur'an enjoins this equitable and tolerant attitude, it is unthinkable that a Muslim could take an opposing view.

Conclusion

In a Muslim's outlook on the world, one of his basic criteria is justice. No matter whom he may oppose, he cannot depart from justice. He acts not according to his feelings, but with his reason and conscience. He removes himself from fanaticism and bigotry, and makes his decisions according to wisdom.

What God teaches us in the Qur'an about different peoples and creeds is clear:

O humanity! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other. The noblest among you in God's sight is the one of you who best performs his duty. God is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Qur'an, 49:13)

The Nazis subjected European Jews to indisputable and unforgivable cruelty during World War II. They humiliated, insulted and degraded millions of Jewish civilians, forcing them from their homes and enslaving them in concentration camps under inhuman conditions. The terrible photographs of Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz on the left, or the dead prisoners at Buchenwald below, are sufficient reminders of the scale of the Nazi barbarity.

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